The automatic cigarette pack vending machines that are coin-operated, have a series of aligned vertical compartments in which are stacked the different brands of cigarettes, for dispensing them whenever the user has made his choice.
Said compartments are defined by a series of vertical strips that are fastened to the corresponding structure forming the machine, defining each pair of contiguous strips, each one of the compartments.
Hence, said strips in relation to the defined open side, may have a projection that permits the fastening of the stacked packs in order to prevent the same from collapsing, in such a way that in the top part of the strip, said front projection is narrower in order to facilitate the loading of the packs. Said top narrower section is not very long, and therefore, the loading being progressively carried out through said top end permits the insertion of a small number of packs simultaneously, until the compartment is complete, said operation requiring quite a bit of time.
Likewise, on the market there is a second device used to fasten cigarette packs stacked in the corresponding compartments, in such a way that in this case, the strips that define the compartments are totally flat and the device is defined by a rod provided in both ends of the respective L-shaped projections through whose vertical free wing is fit in the respective holes, acting as rotation shafts of the rod, as the same can be arranged according to two differentiated positions.
Thus, the rod is aided by the action of a top spring that impels it towards the bottom part, in such a way that at the bottom the structure of the compartment has a front projection that allows positioning of the rod in the opening position and in the operating position, said positions being delimited by the bottom projection, upon which the rod accedes upon pushing it at the top overcoming the force of the corresponding spring.
In the operating position, the rod remains in relation to the front open side of the compartment, acting as a stop of the packs stacked in it, and preventing the collapsing of the same.
In this way, upon producing the opening of the rod for the purpose of loading the machine, the loading space is defined according to its entire height, but this device has the inconvenience that if when finishing the loading some rod is not in its operating position, the packs corresponding to that compartment may collapse very easily, leaving the machine unusable, with the inconvenience that this implies.